5693 

I  A3 


; 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  INSTITUTE  OF  AMERICA 


PAPERS 


OF  THE 


SCHOOL  OF  AMERICAN 
RESEARCH 

New  Series—Number  Three 


Catalog  of  the  Borrowdale  Collection 


NEW  SERIES  PAPER  N<X 

192  I 


The  Borrowdale  Collection 


By  bequest  of  the  late  William  M.  Borrowdale  of  Mag- 
dalena,  New  Mexico,  there  came  to  the  State  Museum  in  Jan- 
uary, 1920,  a  large  collection  which  the  donor  had  gradually 
assembled  from  the  time  of  his  first  arrival  in  New  Mexico  in 
the  year  1880. 

The  collection  comprises  many  articles  of  archaeological 
and  ethnological  value,  including  old  Indian  pottery,  arrow 
heads,  beads  and  charms,  basketry,  etc.,  but  the  part  of  the 
collection  in  which  Mr.  Borrowdale  took  especial  pride  was 
that  consisting  of  edged  weapons  and  firearms.  The  latter 
show  an  almost  complete  historical  series  from  the  Revolu- 
tionary period  down  to  the  present,  besides  a  number  of  weap- 
ons of  even  earlier  periods. 

The  Museum  is  especially  fortunate  to  have  had  the  help 
of  Mr.  P.  S.  Curtis,  Jr.,  in  preparing  the  catalog  which  is 
herewith  presented.  Mr.  Curtis  is  a  Yale  graduate,  headmas- 
ter of  the  boys'  school  at  Los  Alamos  Ranch,  and  his  expert 
knowledge  on  weapons  has  enabled  him  to  make  the  catalog 
both  accurate  and  readable. 

THE  DIRECTOR 


Edged  Weapons  and    Firearms 

IN 

The  Borrowdale  Collection. 


PART  I--EDGED  WEAPONS. 

3147-  Hand  made  ax,  probably  old  Spanish.  The  handle  is 
modern. 

3148 — Fire  ax  of  the  model  used  by  early  American  volunteer 
firemen. 

3149— -A  cavalry  sabre  of  the  Empire  of  Napoleon  I.  Made 
at  the  famous  arsenal  at  Klingenthal,  it  was  issued  from 
the  depot  at  Versailles.  Dated  1813,  it  may  well  have 
seen  service  at  the  battles  of  Leipsic  and  Waterloo.  By 
its  pattern  it  may  probably  have  been  made  for  Napo- 
leon's German  or  Polish  auxiliary  cavalry,  more  proba- 
bly German.  Its  general  construction  indicates  that  it 
was  made  for  men  of  medium  size  and  weight,  who  were 
used  to  slashing  with  a  sword  rather  than  using  the 
point 

3150 — A  Spanish  cavalry  sabre  made  at  the  government  arse- 
nal at  Toledo  in  1879  and  presumably  captured  by 
American  forces  during  the  Spanish  War.  The  blade, 
though  intended  for  use  by  no  one  more  important  than 
a  private  of  cavalry,  bears  nevertheless  all  the  charac- 
terist  cs  of  the  famous  Toledo  steel  and  workmanship 

3151 — AGerman  made  sabre,  by  Henry  Becker  of  Solingen. 
It  bears  neither  date,  government  insignia,  nor  arsenal 
marks  but  belongs  to  the  period  of  1860-1880.  Pre- 
sumably brought  to  this  country  by  either  the  Un- 
ion or  Confederate  government  during  the  period  of 
enormous  prosperity  for  European  armorers  when  the 
two  governments  were  buying  everything  on  which  they 
could  lay  their  hands,  not  only  for  their  own  equipment, 
but  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  weapons  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  enemy. 

3152  A  United  States  cavalry  sabre  dated  1863  and  made 
by  Roby,  of  West  Chelmsford,  Mass..  who  sharediin 
the  great  contracts  of  1862-3-4  for  the  equipment  of  the 
Union  Army. 


3153 — A  French  cuirassier  sabre  of  the  Second  Empire,  dated 
1870  and  may  have  seen  the  fall  of  Napoleon  III  at  Se- 
dan. The  weapon  is  typical  of  the  French  national  in- 
stinct and  of  the  type  of  cavalry  for  which  it  was  in- 
tended. Of  exceptional  length  and  weight,  it  is  very 
evidently  intended  for  the  use  of  an  unusually  large  man 
on  a  heavy  horse.  Neither  edge  is  of  any  great  use, 
while  the  point  is  extremely  sharp  and  the  blade  wid- 
ens backward  from  the  point  very  gradually,  giving  an 
almost  incredible  piercing  power. 

3154 — Old  Spanish  sword  blade  and  pommel  from  battle  field 
of  Pinos  Altos  near  Silver  City,  New  Mexico.  When 
new  the  blade  unquestionably  had  a  cross  guard  of  light 
metal  which  has  since  disappeared.  Bath  edges  were 
sharp  and  it  could  be  used  for  both  cutting  and  thrust- 
ing. On  one  side  of  the  blade  is  engraved  IOANNES, 
and  on  the  other  D  GLAORIA.  The  loannes  may  indi- 
cate either  bad  knowledge  of  Latin  on  the  part  of  the 
sword  cutler,  a  theory  which  the  other  inscription  would 
bear  out,  or  that  the  maker  was  of  Dutch  or  Flemish 
origin,  the  latter  of  which  is  a  very  strong  possibility, 
as  Spain  held  the  Netherlands  for  a  number  of  years  at 
the  time  when  America  was  discovered,  and  Spanish 
soldiers  were  by  no  means  slow  to  take  advantage  of 
the  opportunity  to  buy  the  wares  of  the  Flemish  armo- 
rers, especially  the  swords,  and  to  learn  the  extraordi- 
nary methods  of  the  Flemish  masters  of  fence  who  at- 
tacked opponents  and  defended  themselves  according 
to  the  rules  of  geometry. 

3155 — A  Navy  cutlass  which  bears  no  government  or  arsenal 
marks.  It  may  be  Confederate  Government,  blockade 
runner,  or  neither.  The  blade  while  curved,  is  very 
light  for  the  service  for  which  it  was  intended  and  the 
shell  guard  which  has  been  riveted  on  to  the  knuckle 
bow  is  very  evidently  an  afterthought. 

3156  —A  composite  weapon  of  which  the  blade  is  of  an  old 
rapier  pattern  and  the  hilt  and  guard  much  more  mod- 
ern. There  are  no  marks  to  judge  accurately  of  the  age 
of  the  blade,  but  the  pattern  goes  back  to  the  sixteenth 
century.  As  it  stands  it  may  very  well  have  been  pre- 
pared for  use  in  the  Civil  War  by  some  southern  officer, 
as  many  of  this  class  are. 

3157-  A  cutlass  of  the  United  States  Navy  dated  1845  and 
made  by  Nathaniel  P.  Ames  (who  was  one  of  the  fam- 
ous Ames  family  of  sword  cutlers,  the  best  known  of 
that  profession  in  America)  at  his  factory  at  Springfield, 
Mass.  The  design  of  this  cutlass  is  something  unusual, 


the  blade  being  shorter  and  straightev,  hence  offering 
less  opportunity  for  cutting,  and  the  hand  guard  being 
far  more  open  than  any  cutlass  issued  in  the  American 
service  either  before  or  after  this  period. 

3158 — A  machete,  or  cane  knire,  favorite  weapon  of  the  Cuban 
Revolution.  This  weapon  is  of  European  manufacture 
and  may  have  been  used  by  the  Spaniards  or  famished 
by  Spanish  landholders  to  their  Cuban  dependents  who 
later  rebelled. 

3159 — A  hand  made  piece  of  somewhat  unusual  design.  The 
character  of  the  horn  used  in  the  grip,  the  balance  and 
weight,  and  the  design  of  the  blade  make  it  seem  pro- 
bable that  the  piece  is  of  Filipino  origin.  Swords  of  this 
sort  were  made  for  officers  of  the  Katipunan  in  the 
country  districts. 

3160 — Another  machete  of  different  type,  home  made,  for  use 
in  cutting  heavy  brush. 

3161 — A  home  made  side  arm  sword,  of  which  the  blade  is  far 
older  than  the  hilt.  Origin  uncertain. 

3162 — A  sword  bayonet  without  distinguishing  marks,  the  pat- 
tern of  the  American  Civil  War  period,  made  partic- 
ularly famous  by  being  first  used  by  Duryea's  Zouaves. 

3163— A  duplicate  of  3162. 

3164  Dagger.  Origin  uncertain,  as  there  are  no  maker's 
marks.  The  blade  is  much  older  than  the  hilt. 

3165— Old  hunting  dagger  of  European  make.  The  hunting 
dagger  was  used  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  the  throat 
of  large  game  the  hounds  had  run  down. 

3166 — Dagger,  origin  uncertain. 

3167 — Ancient  Spanish  military  dagger,  or  possibly  a  plug 
bayonet,  there  being  little  difference  between  the 
two,  as  the  plug  bayonet,  the  earliest  type  of  that 
weapon,  was  simply  a  dagger  with  the  hilt  made  so  as 
to  fit  the  muzzle  of  the  soldier's  weapon. 

3168 — A  home  made  side  arm  sword,  probably  of  Filipino 
workmanship.  The  grip  isunusal,  being  made  of  rings 
of  leather  placed  one  upon  another. 

3169 — Intrenching  tool,  United  States  Infantry,  period  1870- 
1900. 

3170 — Hunting  knife,  U.  S.  Army,  issued  to  troops  on  west- 
ern stations  and  other  sections  where  large  game  is 
plentiful. 


— 6— 

3171 — Home  made  bowie  knife. 

3172 — Chinese  or  Japanese  dagger  of  modern  workmanship, 
probably  made  for  tourist  trade. 

3173 — A  Filipino  bolo  with  wooden  sheath,  presumably  cap- 
tured during  or  subsequent  to  the  Filipino  Insurrec- 
tion. A  weapon  whose  clumsy  appearance  is  extrem- 
ly  deceiving  and  has  in  many  cases  been  fatally  so. 
Its  shape,  while  ungainly,  is  remarkably  suited  for 
purposes  of  cutting  and  in  practiced  hands  is  cap- 
able of  entirely  severing  a  leg  or  an  arm,  or  of  clea- 
ving a  skull  from  crown  to  chin  at  a  single  stroke. 
The  construction  of  the  sheath  is  also  worthy  of  no- 
tice. Slit  along  the  edge  opposite  the  blade  and 
bound  together  with  light  cord,  it  appears  to  hinder 
the  blade  greatly  Many  an  American  soldier  has  paid 
with  his  life  for  the  supposition  that  when  passing  an  ap- 
parently peaceful  Filipino  he  could  draw  his  revolver 
before  the  Filipino  could  draw  so  clumsy  a  weapon 
from  so  clumsy  a  sheath.  The  Filipino  does  not  clear 
his  blade,  but  draws  bolo  and  sheath  from  his  belt  at 
once  and  strikes  with  the  blade  still  in  the  sheath. 
The  blade  penetrates  through  the  slit  in  the  edge 
of  the  sheath  and  is  absolutely  unhindered  by  it,  a 
curious  and  very  uncomfortable  circumstance. 

3174-  A  United  States  foot  artillery  side  arm  sword  made  by 
Oak  Ames  at  Chicopee  Falls,  Mass.,  in  1843.    Copied 
after  the  sword  of  the  Roman  Legionary,   it  has   been 
so   altered    in  the  process    that  it  retains    none   of 
the  virtues  of  the  Roman  sword,  all  of  its  vices,    and 
developes  a  number  of  perfectly  new  vices  of  its   own. 
As  a  weapon  for  the  purpose  of   offence  or  defence,   it 
is  uncommonly  unsuitable.    As  a  piece  of  sword  cut- 
lery, however,  it  is  a  work    of  remarkable  excellence. 
In  spite  of  its  date,  and  the  fact  that  certain    units  of 
the  foot  artillery  served  in  the  Mexican  War,  it  seems 
improbable  that  this  particular  weapon  has  ever    seen 
campaign  service. 

3175-  Angular  bayonet,  U.  S.  Infantry,  period   1860—1900. 
The  triangular  grooved  blade  is  a  survival  of  the  French 
type  of  plug  dagger,  the  poniard,  and  is  also  the  type 
of  blade  found  in  the  small  sword   of   the  eighteenth 
century.     The  piece  in  question  is  undated,  but  the 
locking  ring  which  fixed  the  bayonet  firmly  to  the  rifle 
and  prevented  its  being  loosened  or  removed  by  a  sabre 
cut  from  a  skillful  cavalryman,  assigns  it  definitely  to 
the  period  subsequent  to  1850. 


—7— 

3176 — Japanese  short  sword  or  dagger,  also  called  "second 
sword.' '  An  especial  favorite  with  the  people  for  the 
purpose  of  hari-kiri. 

3177 — Spanish  musician's  sword.  Issued  to  members  of  bands 
in  the  Spanish  army,  probably  captured  during  the  Span- 
ish War.  Number  2  on  the  guard  probably  indicates 
its  issue  to  members  of  t  he  band  of  the  2d  regiment  of 
Infantry.  This  weapon,  or  so  called  weapon,  represents 
the  last  stage  of  degradation  of  the  type  of  sword  rep- 
resented bv  number  3154.  It  is  from  the  point  of  view 
of  a  collector  the  same  type,  with  the  balance  gone,  the 
edges  gone,  the  hilt  so  short  as  to  prevent  proper  grip- 
ping, the  cross  guard  so  short  and  so  thin  as  to  offer 
practically  no  defense  and  the  blade  without  temper 
worthy  of  consideration.  It  is  of  value  purely  as  an  or- 
nament. To  send  a  man  out  to  defend  himself,  armed 
with  such  a  weapon,  would  be  nothing  less  than  mur- 
der. Its  ancestor,  3154,  possessed  most  of  the  qualities 
which  should  be  demanded  of  a  sword  which  is  required 
to  protect  the  1'fe  of  it*  owner.  No.  3177  possesses  none 
of  them.  The  only  point  which  can  be  mentioned  in 
its  favor  is  that  musicians  to  whom  such  swords  were 
issued  were  supposed  to  be  non  combatant  in  time  of 
war. 

3178-  Old  knife  blade,  hand  forged,  origin  uncertain. 


PART  II--PISTOLS. 

3071  A  double  barrelled  percussion  lock  carriage  pistol  of 
shotgun  type.  The  workmanship,  which  is  French,  is 
very  excellent,  the  barrels  being  of  twisted  steel  in- 
stead of  iron.  The  stock  is  of  rosewood.  There  is  a 
cap  box  in  the  butt. 

3072 — -A  double  barrelled  percussion  lock  travelling  or  carriage 
pistol.  It  has  Damascus  barrels  and  the  ornamented 
cap  box  in  the  butt  still  contains  several  caps.  This 
weapon  is  an  excellent  example  of  the  gunsmith's  art, 
being  perfectly  finished  in  every  respect. 

3073— An  American  "pepperbox"  percussion  lock  revolving 
pistol,  an  ancestor  of  the  revolver,  and  logically  the 
next  step  after  the  double  barrelled  pistol  in  acquiring 
a  multiplicity  of  shots  from  one  weapon.  For  the  ac- 
tion and  effectiveness  of  the  weapon  see  Mark 
Twain's  tribute  in  "Roughing  It."  It  was  commonly 
said  that  the  best  way  to  injure  an  opponent  with  one 


— 8— 

of  these  weapons  was  to  throw  it  at  him.     This  weapon 
is  double  action  and  was  made  by  A.  W.  Spies. 

3074 — A  hammerless  pepperbox  pistol  made  by  J.  R.  Cooper. 

3075 — A  double  action  pepperbox  pistol,  percussion  lock,  made 
at  London,  England. 

3076— Highly  decorated  revolver  marked  "BRITISH  BULL- 
DOG," though  there  are  no  distinctive  marks  of  Brit- 
ish manufacture. 

3077— "Colt's  House  Pistol,"  44  caliber,  four  shot,  and  of 
very  odd  design. 

3078 — Double  barrelled  derringer  made  by  the  American  Arms 
Co.,  Boston,  Mass.,  under  the  Wierles  patent,  June  30, 
1860.  Manufacturer's  number  4446.  The  barrels  are 
fired  separately,  lower  barrel  being  revolved  into  place 
by  hand.  Each  barrel  has  its  own  sight. 

3079 — A  Sharp's  four  barrel  pistol,  holding  four  32 caliber  rim 
fire  cartridges  which  are  discharged  in  series  by  a  firing 
lug  which  revolves  upon  the  face  of  the  hammer 

3080— A  "SOUTHERNER"  45  caliber  derringer  pistol.  The 
barrel  swings  to  the  right  to  load. 

3081 — 22  caliber  derringer  pistol  sold  for  ladies  use. 

3082— Another  Sharp's  four  barrel  pistol,  same  as  number 
3079  except  the  caliber  is  22. 

3083 — An  American  made  percussion  lock  derringer.  This 
weapon  was  an  especial  favorite  with  gamblers,  assas- 
sins, and  other  undesirable  characters,  because  of  the 
ease  with  which  it  could  be  concealed,  its  terrific 
shocking  power,  and  its  extreme  adaptability  to  close 
range  work.  The  assassination  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  accomplished  with  a  weapon  of  this  type,  and  the 
German  "Kamerad  pistol"  as  used  in  the  late  war  is 
said  to  have  been  derived  from  it. 

3084 — Williamson's  patent  44  caliber  derringer,  for  center  fire 
cartridge.  The  barrel,  when  released  by  pressure  on 
lug  underneath,  slides  forward  to  permit  loading. 

3085 — A  32  caliber,  single  action,  rim  fire  saloon  pistol  made 
by  Bacon  &  Co.,  Norwich,  Conn.,  the  barrel  swinging 
to  the  side  to  load. 

3086-  A  pinfire  revolver  of  about  5mm.  made  by  Lepage 
Brothers  of  Paris,  manufacturers  number  5962. 

3087— A  double  bai  relied  percussion  lock  pocket  pistol,  made 


-9- 

at  Liege.  Each  barrel  unscrews  to  load  or  clean,  and 
both  were  originally  chased  with  silver,  although  most 
of  the  design  is  now  worn  off  At  a  range  greater 
than  a  few  feet,  as  the  barrels  are  not  parallel,  and  con- 
sequently permit  only  the  vaguest  sort  of  sighting,  this 
weapon  was  probably  of  very  little  use. 

3088— A  percussion  lock  pistol  made  at  the  Royal  Arsenal  at 
Mutzig,  Germany.  It  is  of  the  type  commonly  used  by 
officers  as  a  pocket  pistol;  has  seen  hard  usage  and  been 
repaired  extensively.  The  fact  that  it  was  used  as  a 
pocket  pistol  suggests  the  difference  in  costume  between 
the  present  time  and  the  date  of  making  the  pistol,  as 
the  modern  pocket  would  hardly  hold  one  half  the  size. 

3089-  Allen's  patent  pepperbox,  manufactured  by  Allen  & 
Thurber,  Worcester.  The  barrel  is  of  cast  sleel;  the 
neck  of  the  butt  is  sheathed  with  steel,  which  is  engraved. 

3090— A  Lefaucheaux  patent  pinfire  revolver,  about  9mm. 

3091 — A  Sharp's  breech  loading  percussion  lock  pistol,  in- 
tended for  private  use.  The  maker,  C.  Sharp  of 
Philadelphia,  was  the  manufacturer  also  of  the  fam- 
ous Sharp's  Rifles  and  Carbines  and  the  action  of  the 
pistol  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  larger  weapons,  the 
breech-block  being  lowered  by  operating  the  trigger 
guard  as  a  lever. 

3092  A  flint  lock  horse  pistol  made  at  Liege,  Belgium,  date 
uncertain.  Probably  intended  for  private  use. 

3093 — A  flint  lock  horse  pistol  of  uncertain  origin  but  pro- 
bably American. 

3094 — A  percussion  lock  horseman's  pistol  of  French  make 
with  ingenious  safety  catch.  This  is  evidently  a 
military  weapon. 

3095  Colt's  single  action  percussion  lock  revolver  with  en- 
graved cylinder. 

3096 — A  percussion  lock  horse  pistol  made  at  Liege  and  of 
a  military  pattern  though  bearing  no  distinguishable 
marks  of  government  acceptance. 

3097 — Henry's  "Volcanic  Arms  Company"  Magazine  Pistol, 
made  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  the  invention  of  Henry 
himself,  who  indented  in  addition  the  Henry  rifle 
and  a  highly,  successful  rim  fire  cartridge,  his  patents 
being  taken  over  by  the  Winchester  Company.  The 
present  specimen  of  his  work  is  self  cocking  and 
shoots  a  center  fire  cartridge.  It  is  charged  by  slid- 


-10- 

ing  the  magazine  spring  up  into  the  segment  under 
the  muzzle,  swinging  the  segment,  and  dropping  the 
cartridges  down  the  tube.  The  piece  is  loaded  by 
working  the  trigger  guard,  which  has  nearly  the  same 
action  as  a  Winchester  rifle  of  the  model  of  1894. 

3098— A  Colt  36  caliber  revolver. 

3099— Werder  Lighting  Pistol,  an  Austrian  military  weapon, 
single  shot,  center  fire  cartridge  of  caliber  about  9mm. 
The  piece  is  loaded  by  touching  the  small  lever  in 
front  of  the  trigger  guard,  at  which  the  breech  block 
falls  and  exposes  the  chamber.  Cocking  the  piece 
returns  the  breech  to  the  firing  posi.tion.  Carbines 
were  made  under  the  Werder  patents  and  proved 
very  successful. 

3100-  A  Remington  Patent  1858,  36  caliber  revolver. 

3101 — A  Savage  self  cocking  percussion  lock  revolver  with 
initiah  H.  L.  W.  on  the  butt.  This  was  not,  properly 
speaking,  a  double  action  gun  but  was  cocked  by  pull- 
ing on  large  lever  in  trigger  guard  and  fired  by  pulling 
on  trigger  proper. 

3102— A  Colt's  Navy  Patent  1850- 

3103 — A  Starr  patent  1856  double  action  percussion  lock  re- 
volver. This  is  the  first  of  the  double  action  percus- 
sion revolvers  and  was  issued,  with  the  Colt  single  ac- 
tion, to  the  Union  forces  in  the  Civil  War. 

3104 — A  Remington  50  caliber  single  action  pistol,  single 
shot,  for  center  fire  cartridges,  patent  1868  and  is- 
sued to  the  United  States  Navy.  The  action  is  the 
same  as  that  of  the  famous  Remington  Ryder  rifle. 

3105— A  Remington  Navy  Revolver.  Patent  1858.  The 
rammer  is  missing.  It  is  interesting  to  note  in  the 
previous  percussion  revolvers  the  presence  of  this  ram- 
mer, which  was  used  to  set  a  conical  bullet  on  top  of  a 
fixed  charge  of  powder  put  up  in  a  paper  cartridge. 
This  rammer  was  the  invention  of  Col.  Walker,  at  one 
time  a  partner  of  Col.  Samuel  P.  Colt. 

3106 — A  Colt  36  caliber  revolver  altered  to  shoot  center  fire 
metallic  cartridges  by  the  same  process  as  used  upon 
the  Colt  revolver  numbered  2109.  Manufacturer's 
number  156710. 

3107 — A  Remington  44  caliber,  single  action,  center  fire  re- 
volver. This  appears  to  have  been  made  over  from 
a  percussion  lock  piece  but  there  is  no  definite  proof. 


11 

3108 — Le  Mat  Patent  percussion  lock  revolver  with  barrels, 
of  which  the  upper  was  rifled  and  took  the  bullets 
from  the  cylinder  whiie  the  lower  was  smooth  bore  of 
large  caliber  and  was  loaded  with  buck  shot  for  use 
at  close  range,  the  change  from  one  barrel  to  another 
being  effected  by  tipping  the  striking  face  of  the  ham- 
mer,  which  is  pivoted,  into  a  steeper  downward  angle 
so  as  to  strike  the  cap  of  the  second  barrel.  This  type 
of  weapon  was  a  great  favorite  with  Southern  officers 
during  the  Civil  War.  This  type  of  revolving  weapon 
with  a  shot  gun  barrel  attached  was  invented  by  Dr., 
afterward  Col.,  Alexandre  Francois  Le  Mat,  of  New 
Orleans,  and  patented  in  1856.  Both  rifles  and  revol- 
vers were  made  on  this  patent.  The  majority  of  weap- 
ons on  this  system  were  produced  in  France  and  Bel- 
gium, though  some  were  made  in  Louisiana  for  sport- 
ing purposes  before  the  Civil  War.  After  the  War  the 
Le  Mat  patent  weapons  had  great  favor  in  Europe  and 
were  adapted  for  metallic  cartridges.  For  some  reason, 
however,  they  never  attained  great  popularity  in  the 
United  States 

3109 — A  Colt's  revolver,  originally  percussion  lock  of  the  pat- 
ent of  1850,  altered  to  shoot  metallic  cartridges  by  cut- 
ting off  the  rear  of  the  cylinder,  brazing  a  block  to  the 
frame  to  fill  the  space  thus  made,  and  brazing  a  lug 
onto  the  original  hammer  to  explode  center  fire  car- 
tridges. No.  159710. 

3110 — Two  percussion  lock  dragoon  pistols  in  saddle  holsters. 

3111— Though  not  a  pair — as  is  proved  by  their  having  been 
accepted  by  different  government  inspectors — both  were 
made  by  Inman  Johnson  of  Middletown,  Conn.,  and 
accepted  by  the  U.  S.  government  in  1835.  presumably 
the  year  of  their  manufacture.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
by  the  cartridge  holders  under  the  flaps  of  the  holsters 
that  these  pistols  were  definitely  intended  for  fixed  am- 
munition. They  were  intended  to  be  loaded  with  a 
paper  or  cloth  cartridge  instead  of  being  loaded  by 
pouring  in  powder  from  a  horn,  ramming  a  wad  on  top 
of  it,  then  ramming  in  a  bullet,  and  on  top  of  this  a 
second  wad,  the  common  method  of  muzzle  loading 
weapons.  The  ramrods  on  swivels  were  especially  in- 
tended for  mounted  use,  the  swivels  being  introduced 
for  reloading  while  still  attaching  the  rod  to  the  pistol. 
This  was  to  prevent  the  dropping  of  the  rod  and  its 
consequent  loss  to  mounted  men. 

3112— A  Smith  and  Wesson  38  caliber  single  action,  rim  fire 


12 

revolver  of  early  but  indistinguishable  date.  To  load 
the  piece  the  barrel  is  released  at  the  bottom  and  swung 
up  on  a  hinge  and  the  cylinder  removed.  Manufactur- 
er's No.  37755. 

3113— A  pinf ire  revolver,  about  9mm  ,  made  at  Liege,  Bel- 
gium. The  pinfire  antedated  the  rim  fire  metallic 
cartridge  by  a  few  years  in  Europe,  but  was  little  used 
in  the  United  States.  The  igniting  charge,  instead  of 
being  placed  in  the  cartridge,  was  placed  in  a  small 
copper  tube  which  stuck  out  at  right  angles  from  the 
base  of  the  cartridge  and  passed  in  the  revolver 
through  a  slit  in  the  side  of  a  chamber.  Manufactur- 
ers number  3260. 

3114 — An  English  double  action,  center  fire  revolver,  with  an 
odd  safety  on  the  left  hand  side,  which  not  only  pre- 
vents explosion  of  a  cartridge  by  a  pull  on  the  trigger, 
but  also  keeps  the  hammer  from  resting  on  a  cartridge. 
No.  30730.  Manufactured  by  B.  Webley  &  Son,  London. 

3115 — "The  American,"  38  caliber,  double  action,  center  fire, 
which  cannot  be  used  as  a  single  action  because  of  the 
peculiarly  shaped  hammer,  so  designed  to  prevent  catch- 
ing in  the  pocket  This  weapon,  together  with  numbers 
•  3118,  3116  and  3117,  presents  an  excellent  exposition  of 
the  cheap  American-made  revolver,  which  has  been  the 
mainstay  of  crimes  of  violence  in  the  Eastern  states  as 
well  as  a  most  fruitful  source  of  accident. 

3116 — "The  American,"  38  caliber,  double  action,  center  fire. 

3117 — An  "  American  Bulldog,' '  45  caliber,  double  action,  cen- 
ter fire  revolver,  a  type  in  high  favor  with  the  gangster, 
burglar  and  "safe  blower"  from  1870  till  the  advent  of 
the  automatic. 

3118— A  22  caliber,  single  action,  rim  fire  revolver  made  by 
the  U.  S.  Pistol  Company. 

3119 — A  44  caliber,  rim  fire,  single  action  pistol,  made  by  the 
Connecticut  Arms  Company.  The  breech-loading  ac- 
tion is  peculiar  in  that  the  large  and  solid  breech  block 
swings  to  the  left  on  being  released  by  pressure  on  the 
stud  that  serves  as  a  rear  sight. 

3120— A  5mm.  pin  fire  revolver  made  at  Liege. 

3121 — A  revolver,  single  action,  percussion  lock,  of  Ames  pat- 
ent 1858,  and  manufactured  by  Remington. 

3122 — A  Remington  revolver,  patent  1858,  with  blued  finish, 
in  hand  made,  hand  carved  holster.  No  doubt  this 


13 

weapon  played  its  part  in  the  winning  of'  the  West,  as 
did  many  more  of  the  revolvers  in  this  percussion  lock 
group,  which  saw  service  between  1850  and  1870. 


PART  HI-WEAPONS  FIRED  FROM  THE  SHOULDER 

The  Borrowdale  Collection  shows  particularly  well 
the  development  of  fire  arms,  besides  including  a  rather 
considerable  series  of  weapons  used  in  the  American 
Revolution  and  of  breech  loading  carbines  in  the  Civil 
War,  presenting  a  rather  considerable  history  of  the  de- 
velopment of  fire  arms  in  America. 

3000 — An  English  "Crown  and  Tower"  "Queen's  Arm,"  origi- 
nally issued  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne  from  the  arsenal 
in  the  Tower  of  London,  though  made  at  Birmingham. 
The  weapon  was  issued  for  Government  service,  and 
was,  during  or  subsequent  to  1813,  again  sent  to  the 
factories  at  Birmingham  and  reissued  for  service.  This 
gun  is  of  interest  for  a  number  of  reasons.  It  is,  in  the 
first  place,  the  first  example  in  this  collection  of  the  or- 
dinary type  of  flint  lock,  commonly  called  the  Snap 
Haunce.  The  word  and  the  type  of  lock  have  an  inter- 
esting derivation,  the  word  being  anglicized  from  the 
Dutch  "Snaap  Haans,  "which  translated  means  "chick- 
en thief. ' '  The  lock  is  reported  to  have  been  the  in- 
vention of  Dutch  chicken  thieves  whose  unlawful  expe 
ditions  carried  on  chiefly  at.  night  demanded  weapons  of 
offense  or  defense,  as  the  case  might  be.  The  Dutch 
householder  could  with  perfect  convenience  use  a  match 
lock.  The  chicken  thief,  however,  could  not,  because 
the  glow  of  the  match  in  the  dark  most  accurately  be- 
trayed his  presence.  Consequently  he  applied  the 
principle  of  the  flint  and  steel,  which  he  had  for  years 
used  for  the  purpose  of  lighting  his  fire,  to  explode  his 
musket,  a  principle  which  has  been  applied  to  fire  arm 
locks  from  his  day  to  the  present,  when  flint  lock  weap- 
ons are  still  manufactured  for  trade  with  the  natives  of 
Africa  and  other  isolated  sections  where  the  flint  lock, 
with  loose  ammunition,  is  still  the  most  convenient  form 
of  fire  arm. 

As  a  military  weapon  the  "Queen's  Arm"  was  most 
unsatisfactory  for  a  number  of  reasons.  First,  the  fact 
that  it  was  not  rifled  and  shot  a  round  ball  cut  its  ac- 
curacy down  to  zero  at  anything  more  than  a  hundred 
yards.  Again,  after  a  very  few  shots,  five  at  most,  pro- 


14 

vided  the  weather  was  fairly  dry,  the  barrel  became  so 
fouled  as  to  make  it  necessary  for  the  soldier  to  stop 
and  clean  his  weapon.  Two  shots  a  minute  was  extrem- 
ly  rapid  fire  for  the  Queen's  Arm,  and  to  speak  of  aimed 
shots  in  connection  with  this  weapon  would  be  decided- 
ly inaccurate,  as  the  soldier  was  not  required  to  aim. 
He  was  required  merely  to  hold  his  piece  horizontally, 
that  is,  parallel  to  the  ground,  point  the  muzzle  toward 
the  enemy,  and  fire  at  the  word  of  command.  The 
Queen's  Arm,  while  theoretically  a  standard  caliber, 
60,  actually  varied  exceedingly,  due  to  the  practice  in 
making  them  by  wrapping  a  flat  sheet  of  iron  around  a 
mandrel,  which  produced  numerous  inaccuracies  in  the 
barrel,  which  if  the  barrel  was  not  rifled  removed  any 
semblance  of  accuracy  it  might  have  had.  Curiously, 
however,  when  opposed  to  an  enemy  armed  with  a  sim- 
ilar or  inferior  weapon,  the  Queen's  Arm  was  very  fair- 
ly successful,  due  to  the  fact  that  if  the  enemy  was  not 
armed  with  a  weapon  capable  of  outranging  the  Queen's 
Arm  the  favorite  practice  of  officers  of  the  day  was  to 
approach  within  a  range  of  a  hundred  feet  or  less,  fire 
a  volley,  and  charge  with  the  bayonet.  The  huge  ball 
of  the  Queen's  Arm  propelled  by  a  large  charge  of  slow 
powder,  possessed  a  terrible  shocking  power,  so  that 
having  upset  the  morale  of  the  enemy  by  a  volley,  vic- 
tory with  the  bayonet  was  usually  comparatively  easy 

3001 — A  pill  lock  cadet  musket,  Prussian  manufacture.  The 
pill  lock  had  a  short  period  of  existence  between  the 
flint  and  the  percussion  cap  locks,  a  pill  of  fulminate 
being  placed  in  the  pan,  which  was  opened  by  raising 
the  firing  pin  block,  and  explosion  secured  by  the  firing 
pin  striking  the  pill  when  itself  struck  by  the  hammer. 
Both  the  pill  and  the  percussion  locks  are  chiefly  due 
to  the  efforts  of  a  sporting  parson  in  Scotland,  one  Wm. 
Forsyth. 

3002 — "Kentucky"  carbine,  magazine  weapon  and  rifled 
Made  by  the  Meriden  Arms  and  Mfg.  Co.,  Meriden, 
Conn.,  under  patents  of  Tripler  and  Scotr,  1864  Mag- 
azine is  in  the  butt,  is  loaded  from  the  left  hand  side  of 
the  receiver  block  in  front  of  the  trigger  guard,  and  will 
hold  six  45  rim  fire  cartridges.  To  load  the  chamber 
the  barrel  is  released  by  pressure  on  catch  to  left  of 
hammer  and  the  barrel  is  turned  to  the  right  through 
three-quarters  of  a  circle  till  chamber  comes  opposite 
magazine. 

3003 — A  Colt's  revolving  carbine  of  1848,  which  was  merely 
an  enlargement  of  Colt's  Revolving  Dragoon  Pistol  of 


15 

the  same  period.  The  Colt's  revolving  carbine  while 
successful  to  a  certain  degree,  was  not  in  the  least  en- 
thusiastically received  by  troops  who  were  armed  with 
it,  as  the  gap  between  cylinder  and  barrel  was  large 
enough  to  permit  the  escape  of  considerable  fire  and 
also,  due  to  thinness  of  the  chamber  walls  and  over- 
heating, this  weapon  had  a  habit  of  occasionally  explo- 
ding all  six  chambers  at  once,  which  was  usually  disas- 
trous to  the  shooter. 

-3004 — Remington  Revolving  Carbine,  modeled  after  Colt's 
Revolving  Carbine,  but  for  rim  fire  cartridges* 

3005 — A  percussion  lock  fowling  piece  altered  from  flint  mus- 
ket. The  walnut  stock  is  of  American  workmanship, 
the  barrel  uncertain,  and  the  lock  English. 

3006 — A  Harper's  Ferry  percussion  lock  musket  of  1852,  bar- 
rel finished  in  brown.  Extra  nipple  was  found  in  the  cap 
box  of  this  weapon. 

3007— A  "National  Rifle,"  D.  Williamson's  patent,  made  by 
National  Arms  Co.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Trigger  guard  acts 
as  the  lever  and  the  breech  block  slides  backward  and  for- 
ward. 

3008— A  curious  double  barrelled  rifle  made  by  W.  E.  Rob' 
bins.  The  barrels  are  placed  one  above  the  other  and  are 
fired  simultaneously  if  both  hammers  are  cocked,  or  sing- 
ly by  cocking  only  one  hammer  at  a  time.  Pulling  the 
set  trigger  not  only  sets  the  firing  trigger  but  permits  the 
cocking  of  the  hammer.  The  firing  trigger  is  set  to  a 
hair. 

3009 — Replica  of  a  wheellock  gun,  such  as  was  used  in  the 
period  from  1500  to  1600  The  gun  was  loaded  at  the 
muzzle  and  the  charge  rammed  down,  the  sliding  lid  of 
the  pan  was  drawn  back  and  the  weapon  primed.  The 
powerful  spring  which  backed  the  wheel  was  wound  by  a 
key,  seen  attached  in  this  example,  and  the  trigger  was 
pulled.  On  the  pulling  of  the  trigger  the  hammer  came 
down,  forcing  the  flint  against  the  grooved  wheel,  which 
was  revolved  rapidly  by  the  spring  behind  it,  and  a  shower 
of  sparks  was  thus  thrown  into  the  pan,  where  the  prim- 
ing communicated  the  fire  to  the  charge  in  the  barrel, 
the  whole  operation  consuming  several  seconds  after  the 
trigger  was  pulled.  This  replica  lacks  a  feature  generally 
found  in  the  genuine  pieces,  namely,  an  iron  "fence"  an 
inch  or  more  in  height  placed  on  the  rear  edge  of  the  pan 
to  protect  the  face  of  the  shooter  from  sparks  thrown  out 
by  the  revolving  wheel.  These  weapons  were  extremely 


16 

expensive  nnd  usually  the  property  of  kings  and  noble- 
men. During  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  Charles 
of  France  is  supposed  to  have  assisted  in  the  slaughter  of 
his  Protestant  subjects,  using  a  weapon  of  this  type. 

3010 — A  Chinese  Matchlock,  the  earliest  type  of  firearm,  used 
by  the  Chinese  several  centuries  before  a  knowledge  of 
gunpowder  was  acquired  by  Europeans.  The  weapon  was 
loaded  from  the  muzzle  with  powder  and  ball,  a  pan  on 
the  right  hand  side  of  the  piece  was  primed  with  fine  pow- 
der and  covered  by  the  swinging  cover  which  is  hinged  to 
it.  The  gun  was  tilted  on  its  left  side  and  tapped  smart- 
iy  to  jar  powder  from  the  pan  into  the  barrel.  A  small 
match  or  fuse  made  of  tarred  or  chemically  treated  rope 
.  was  run  from  a  groove  in  the  hammer  through  holes  in 
the  stock  and  carried  in  the  left  hand.  When  ready  to 
fire,  match  was  blown  into  a  coal  and  the  cover  of  the 
pan  was  swung  open.  The  trigger  was  pulled  and  the 
match  forced  into  the  powder  in  the  pan,  which  commun- 
icated the  flash  into  the  barrel  and  exploded  the  piece. 
The  matchlock  was  rather  more  effective  for  disturbing 
the  enemy's  nerves  than  for  injuring  his  body,  though 
at  close  range  it  was  and  still  is  fairly  effective  as  a 
weapon. 

3011 — A  Hessian  rifle  of  the  type  used  by  Hessian  mercenaries 
in  the  Revolution,  This  piece  still  has  the  original  sling 
strap  as  well  as  a  sword  bayonet  with  its  sheath  and 
shoulder  sling.  Note  the  large  box  in  the  right  hand  side 
of  the  butt,  in  which  spare  flints  were  carried.  The  Hes- 
sian rifle  was  a  weapon  much  prized  by  the  British  author- 
ities and  special  prices  were  paid  for  Hessians  who  pos- 
sessed rifles,  there  being  no  rifles  of  government  issue. 
These  Hessian  riflemen  were  formed  into  a  company  un- 
der George  Hanger,  later  Baron  Coleraine,  and  were  for 
a  time  the  pride  of  the  British  service  until  the  majority 
of  them  were  captured  at  Bennington.  The  Hessian  rifle 
is  unquestionably  the  worst,  as  it  is  the  first  of  the  flint 
lock  rifles.  Its  extremely  short  barrel  had  two  disadvan- 
tages. First,  much  of  the  charge  of  powder  did  not  burn 
inside  of  the  gun  and  was  wasted.  Second,  the  sights  were 
set  so  close  together  as  to  make  the  slightest  disturbance 
of  the  barrel  disturb  the  aim  very  seriously  Also,  the 
ball  of  of  the  Hessian  rifle  was  much  larger  than  the  bore 
of  the  rifle  and  was  first  inserted  in  the  muzzle,  which 
was  slightly  enlarged,  then  seated  with  a  short  steel  rod 
and  a  wooden  mallet  the  process  of  jamming  the  ball 
down  on  top  of  the  powder,  so  deforming  the  ball  by  the 
time  it  rested  on  the  wad  as  to  make  it  very  nearly  use- 
less so  far  as  any  gain  in  accuracy  in  rifling  was  con- 


17 

cerned.  Third,  the  Hessian  rifle,  because  of  its  light 
weight  and  large  charge  of  powder,  kicked  most  fen> 
ciously  and  was  inclined  to  cause  even  the  most  deter- 
mined and  experienced  shooter  to  flinch  after  the  first 
few  discharges.  During  the  Revolution  there  was  de- 
veloped by  Major  Ferguson,  of  the  British  army,  a 
breech  loading  flint  lock  rifle  which  for  rapidity  of  fire 
was  infinitely  superior  to  anything  then  available  and 
for  accuracy  compared  very  favorably  with  the  American 
rifles;  but  fortunately  for  the  American  cause,  the  Brit- 
ish government  continued  to  prefer  the  hopelessly  inad- 
equate Hessian  rifle. 

3012— An  American  flint  lock  rifle  with  half  stock,  of  large 
caliber,  presumably  made  by  a  Pennsylvania  gunsmith 
of  the  pre-Revolutionary  period,  though  unmarked. 
Though  originated  and  to  a  large  extent  made  in  Penn- 
sylvania, these  rifles  are  known  as  the  Kentucky  rifles 
and  are  the  weapon  with  which  the  Revolution  was  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  won.  They  played  moreover 
no  inconsiderable  part  in  the  victory  of  Wolfe  on  the 
Plains  of  Abraham,  and  had  an  enormous  influence  in 
the  winning  of  the  territory  between  the  Appalachian 
Mountains  and  the  Mississippi  River.  The  "Kentuck" 
was  practically  never  a  standardized  weapon,  but  was 
made  to  the  order  of  individuals  by  local  gunsmiths, 
each  man  having  his  guti  made  with  length  of  barrel  and 
depth  and  twist  of  rifling  to  suit  his  own  preference. 
Distinguishing  characteristics  of  the  Kentucky  which 
not  only  identified  the  type  but  were  the  determining 
causes  of  its  points  of  superiority  were:  1.  Its  length  of 
barrel,  which  allowed  the  complete  combustion  of  the 
powder  charge  and  caused  the  barrel  to  swing  very 
slowly  and  to  remain  unagitated  by  slight  tremors  on 
the  part  of  the  shooter  and  which  brought  the  sights  far 
apart,  thus  offering  small  deviation  of  aim  for  relatively 
great  shifting  of  sights.  The  very  thick  barrel  of  the 
Kentucky  permitted  occasional  very  heavy  charges  of 
powder  without  danger  of  bursting,  reduced  the  force  of 
recoil  very  considerably,  aided  steadiness  of  aiming,  and 
bv  reduced  vibration  cut  down  considerably  the  noise 
of  the  shot,  which  was  of  great  importance  in  territory 
where  the  slightest  sign  of  his  presence  was  likely  to 
draw  down  on  the  white  man  any  number  of  hostile  In- 
dians. During  the  Revolution  the  "Kentuck"  played 
a  part  of  enormous  importance  which  may  be  illustra- 
ted by  a  number  of  incidents.  A  company  of  riflemen 
from  Virginia  coming  to  Boston  during  the  siege  of  that 
city. by  Washington,  General  Washington  ordered  a 


lg 

special  exhibition,  not  only  for  the  benefit  of  his  OWTB 
troops,  but  also  for  that  of  the  British,  whose  spies  in 
his  camp  he  very  carefully  allowed  to  be  present.     The 
remarkable  exhibitions  of  the  Virginians,  among  them 
the  cutting  in  two  of  a  pole  by  rifle  fire  at  a  distance  of 
a  hundred  yards,  and  the  shooting  of  a  shilling  from  be- 
tween a  man's  fingers  at  a  distance  of  fifty  yards,  so  as- 
tonished General  Gage  that  he  felt  that  a  report  of  it 
to  the  authorities  in   England,  supported  only  by  his 
word,  would  not  be  believed.     Wherefore  he  took  special 
pains  to  capture  an  American  armed  with  the  rifle  and 
send  him  to  England,  where  he  gave  a  number  of  exhi- 
bitions, which  not  only  caused  Gage  to  be  believed,  but 
had  a  seYious  effect  on  recruiting  in  England    for  the 
American  campaign.    Another  occasion  of  great  distress 
to  the  British  was  the  feat  of   an   American   rifleman 
who,  singlehanded,   comfortably  posted  on  a  hill  near 
the  harbor,  proceeded  to  kill  or  disable   some  twenty 
Britishers  who  were  out  on  the  harbor  in  a  barge.    He 
was  all  the  time  in  plain  sight  and  they  made  furious  at- 
tempts to  dispose  of  him  with  their  smooth  bore  mus- 
kets, but  his  piece  was  so  superior  to  theirs  that  he  dis- 
posed of  all  of  them  before  they  were  able  to  get  within 
range.     One  of  the  reasons  for  the  rapidity  of  his  firer 
it  may  be  mentioned,  was  another  quality  of  excellence 
in  the  "Kentuck,"  namely,  the  greased  patch.     These 
greased  patches  of  cloth  or  leather  were   carried   in   a 
socket  or  hollow  in  the  butt  of  the  gun  which  was  cov- 
ered by  a  metal  trap.     After  having  poured  in  his  pow- 
der charge  the  rifleman  laid   a  greased   patch   on   the 
muzzle  of  his  gun,  placed  a  ball  upon  the  greased  patch, 
and  setting  the  hollowed  end  of  his  ramrod  against  the 
ball,  drove  ball  and  patch  together  down  the  barrel  of 
the  weapon  with  a  single  motion  of  the  arm,  the  patch 
not  only  aiding  the  progress  of  the  ball,  but  also  remov-  . 
ing  all  fouling  from  the   previous   shot.     One   of   the 
most  important  single  instances  of  the  services  of   the 
"Kentuck"  in  the  Revolution  occurred  at  the  battle  of 
Freeman's  Farm,  commonly  ca'led  Saratoga.    Here  the 
British  were  under  command  of  General  Fraser  of  the 
ancient  Scotch  family  of  the  Frasers  of  Lovat,  unques- 
tionably the  most  able  of  the  officers  under  Burgoyne's 
command,  and  far  more  able,  in  fact,  than  Burgoyne 
himself,  his  inferior  rank  being  due  chiefly  to  the  politi- 
cal sins  of  his  family.     Under  his  direction  the  battle  was 
proceeding  very  unfavorably  to  the  Americans,  when  he 
was  observed  by  Colonel,  later  General  Daniel  Morgan, 
in  command  of  Morgan's  Rifle, Regiment,  composed  of 
picked  men  from  the  backwoods  of  Virginia  and  Ken- 


tucky  Calling  to  him  one  Timothy  Murphy,  one  of 
the  best  shots  in  his  regiment,  who  was  possessed  of  a 
double  barrelled  flint  lock  rifle,  Morgan  pointed  Fraser 
out  and  made  it  Murphy's  one  duty  for  th^  rest  of  the 
•engagement  to  dispose  of  Fraser.  Murphy  climbed  a 
tree  and  secured  a  steady  aim  at  Fraser,  who  was  on  ex* 
posed  ground,  but  theoretically  beyond  even  rifle  range. 
His  first  two  shots  cut  Fraser's  bridle  rein  close  to  his 
fingers  and  killed  an  aide  who  was  riding  beside  him. 
Fraser,  however,  either  supposed  the  shots  to  be  acci- 
dentally close  or  considered  that  his  personal  honor  de- 
manded that  he  should  not  withdraw.  Murphy  fired 
the  third  time  and  Fraser  was  struck  in  the  breast,  a 
wound  of  which  he  died  before  the  next  morning.  Due 
partially  to  his  absence  from  command,  and  partially 
to  the  dismay  caused 'by  his  Fall,  the  British  army  was 
defeated  at  Freeman's  Farm.  After  his  death  it  was 
again  defeated  at  Saratoga,  Burgoyne,  without  Fraser's 
aid,  being  hopelessly  muddled.  His  surrender  followed, 
and  due  to  his  surrender  America  scoured  definitely 
French  aid,  which  is  a  far  cry  from  Timothy  Murphy 
and  his  double  barrelled  rifle,  but  nevertheless  was  very 
much  a  consequence, 

3013 — A  percussion  lock  carriage   blunderbuss    with  carved 
3014     leather  holster ,  (number  3014) .    Piece  is  of  French  make, 
barrel  made  of  twisted  steel  bands  and  the  stock  elabo- 
rately carved. 

3015— A  Maynard  patent,  percussion  lock  musket  made  at 
Springfield  in  1859.  This  weapon  is  the  invention  of 
a  doctor,  and  carried  a  roll  of  paper  under  the  flap  on 
the  lock  plate  in  which  at  even  distances  were  placed 
charges  of  fulminate  to  act  as  caps.  These  caps  were 
fed  to  the  nipple  automatically  by  the  cocking  of  the 
hammer. 

3016 — Sharp's  breech  loading  percussion  lock  carbine  equipped 
with  Lawrence's  patent  capping  device,  which  consisted 
of  a  plunger  actuated  by  a  spring,  which  may  be  seen 
through,  a  slot  in  the  lock  plate  forward  of  the  hammer. 
The  plunger  and  spring  could  be  removed  by  drawing  a 
screw  at  the  bottom  of  the  lock  plate,  and  the  passage 
loaded  by  inserting  a  tube  which  contained  the  caps, 
and  replacing  the  plunger  and  spring.  The  caps,  which 
were  in  the  form  of  small  disks,  were  automatically  fed 
to  the  nipple  by  the  cocking  of  the  hammer. 


20 

3017— Lindsey's  patent  1860,  58  caliber,  two  shots  from  one 
barrel,  the  ball  of  the  first  charge  acting  as  a  breech 
block  for  the  second.  Two  hammers  and  nippels,  but 
one  trigger,  bayonet  attached.  According  to  Charles 
Winthrop  Sawyer,  the  Lindsey  rifle  was  invented  as  a 
result  of  the  death  of  the  brother  of  the  inventor 
in  an  Indian  raid,  the  Indians  waiting  until  the  whites 
had  fired  and  then  charging  in  before  they  could  re- 
load. Lindsey  thereupon  determined  to  invent  a  piece 
which  should  fire  two  shots  and  have  the  appearance 
of  a  single-loader.  The  basic  principal  of  the  inven- 
tion, that  is,  two  superposed  charges,  was  oldr  though 
probably  unknown  to  Lindsey,  and  was  but  little  more 
sucessful  in  his  weapon  than  in  previous  ones, 
its  great  disadvantage  being  that  it  frequently  fired 
both  charges  at  once,  and  while  few  cases  are  on 
record  of  the  barrel  being  burst  by  this  misfortune 
still  the  effect  upon  the  nerves  of  the  shooter  was  more 
than  considerable,  and  the  weapon  having  gotten  a  bad 
reputation  was  withdrawn  from  army  issue. 

3018 — A  percussion  musket  made  by  Remington  in  1863  on 
contract  with  Federal  Government,  as  was  the  sword 
bayonet  with  sheath,  which  is  attached. 

3019 — A  flint  musket  of  1831  made  at  the  arsenal  at  Har- 
per's Ferry  where  the  system  of  standardized 
interchangeable  musket  parts  was  first  put  into 
practice  about  this  time. 

3020 — J.  H.  Hall's  patent,  breech  loading  flint  lock  rifle 
with  bayonet.  This  piece,  dated  from  Harper's 
Ferry,  1839,  is  a  beautiful  example  of  American 
gunsmith  work  and  inventive  ability.  The  breech 
block  is  thrown  up  by  pressure  on  the  lever  in  front 
of  trigger  guard  and  dropped  back  into  place  by 
pressure  of  the  thumb  The  piece  was  capable  of 
being  used  as  a  muzzle  loader  should  the  breech 
mechanism  fail  to  function.  The  Hall  breech  loading 
principal  was  afterwards  applied  to  percussion-lock 
weapons.  The  breech-loading  flint  lock  was  used 
not  only  in  the  Mexican  War  but  even  as  late  as 
the  Civil  War. 

3021— A  Hungarian  or  Rumanian  percussion  musket  marked 
Pirko  in  Wifn. 

3022 — J.  H.  Merril,  Baltimore,  patent  breech-loading  mus- 
ket. The  flap  on  the  top  of  the  breech  rises  and 
exposes  the  chamber,  into  which  the  cloth  is  dropped 


21 

and  shoved  home  by  an  inside  rammer  attached  to  the 
breech  block. 

3023— Green's  patent  breech  loading,  bolt  action,  percussion 
lock  rifle,  patented  1857,  a  successful  Civil  War 
woapon.  The  hammer  is  under  the  barrel,  in  front 
of  the  trigger  guard,  the  bolt  released  by  a  lug  on  the 
tang  just  behind  it.  56  caliber.  Original  bayonet 
attached.  This  piece  is  so  unusual  in  its  conceotion, 
that  is,  unusual  for  the  period  in  which  it  was  invent- 
ed, that  it  deserves  to  be  placed  with  more  modern 
rifles. 

3024 — Remington  military  rifle,  with  no  date,  no  govern- 
ment marks.  May  possibly  have  been  made  for 
Cuban  or  other  Spanish- American  revolutionists,  as 
this  type  was  a  great  favorite  with  would-be  as  well  as 
established  governments. 

3025— A  Harper's  Ferry  percussion  lock  musket  of  1823 
with  bayonet. 

3026 — U.  S.  Springfield  Arsenal  rifle,  with  bayonet,  made 
1864.  Same  action  as  number  3029. 

3027— Chaffee-Reece  repeating  rifle.  Made  at  Government 
Arsenal  at  Springfield  1884.  The  magazine  is  in  the 
butt,  cartridges  raised  by  bolt  action.  The  trowel 
bayonet  attached  was  intended  for  use  both  as  bayo- 
net and  intrenching  tool. 

3028— Remington  Ryder  45  caliber,  single  shot  rifle,  made  at 
Springfield  Arsenal  1870  for  use  of  U.  S.  Navy. 

3029— U.  S.  Springfield  rifle,  Springfield  Arsenal,  1863. 
The  breech  block  rises  and  drops  forward  over  the 
barrel  when  catch  is  tripped. 

3030— A  German  or  Austrian  walking  stick  gun  with  per- 
cussion lock.  A  type  much  favored  by  the  revolu- 
tionists of  1848  as  a  means  of  going  armed  and  of 
keeping  arms  in  spite  of  the  vigilance  of  the  Prussian 
spies. 

3031 — An  old-fashioned  turkey  gun  altered  from  flint  to 
percussion  lock,  of  large  caliber  and  great  weight, 
used  for  long  ranged  shooting  only.  It  attained  with 
accuracy  ranges  which  in  a  muzzle-loading  piece  seem 
incredible  to  us,  at  least  one  case  being  definitely 
known  where  a  rifle  of  this  type  shot  with  accuracy 
to  a  distance  of  over  a  mile.  The  pieces  of  this  type 
were  not  fired  from  the  shoulder  in  the  ordinary 


22 

fashion,  but  were  fired  from  a  rest,  usually  a  wooden 
bench.  The  present  piece  has  a  set- trigger  and 
unusual  rear  sight;  the  percussion  lock  is  by  Partridge 
and  the  barrel  by  an  unknown  maker.  The  barrel  is 
cut  for  a  false  muzzle  which  was  put  on  while  loading 
to  prevent  injury  of  the  grooves  of  the  rifling  at  the 
true  muzzle  and  removed  before  shooting. 

3032 — A  Chesapeake  Bay  duck  gun  altered  from  flint.  The 
bore  is  a  trifle  ovrer  an  inch  and  the  barrel  is  very  heavy 
and  specially  reinforced  at  the  breech  to  stand  the  strain 
of  very  large  charges  of  powder.  This  piece  was  proba- 
bly seldom  fired  from  the  shoulder  but  from  a  rest  on 
either  the  gunwale  of  the  boat  or  a  swivel  mounted  in 
the  bow. 

3033 — Percussion  lock  rifle  altered  from  flint.  The  new  lock 
is  by  H  Elwell,  but  the  stock  and  barrel  show  work  of 
early  American  flint  gunmakers.  The  piece  has  set 
triggers  and  has  been  repaired  with  leather  in  front  of 
the  lock. 

3034 — A  fowling  piece  made  from  an  old  English  musket  bar- 
rel. The  percussion  lock  is  by  Heaton. 

3035 — A  German  fowling  piece  made  by  Oeffer  at  Es^en. 

3036 — An  English  double  barrelled  fowling  piece  by  W.  and 
C.  Scott  and  Son,  London.  Both  ban-els  are  still 
charged. 

3037 — An  American  double  barrelled  fowling  piece  by  Blunt, 

N.  Y. 

3038 — An  English  double  barrelled  fowling  piece  by  Perkins, 
London,  which  has  seen  hard  use  but  is  still  serviceable. 
The  tops  are  broken  from  both  hammers  and  the  stock 
has  been  repaired  w.th  wire. 

3039— A  French  double  barrelled  fowling  piece  by  P.  F.  Clan- 
din,  Paris. 

3040 — A  percussion  lock  dragoon  carbine  made  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  1847. 

3041 — A  Sharp  and  Lawrence  carbine  for  sharpshooters'  use 
with  set  trigger  and  special  front  sight,  stock  missing. 

3042— A  British  Government  musket  of  1857  marked  V.  R. 
(Victoria  Regina)  which  has  been  altered  to  a  shotgun  by 
cutting  down  the  forestock. 

About  the  year  1850  the  demand  was  rapidly  growing 
for  improvements  in  firearms.  There  were  particularly 


23 

in  demand  for  military  use  a  repeating  rifle  or  at  least 
a  multiple  shot  rifle,  and  also  a  type  of  rifle  in  which 
the  intelligence  of  the  soldier  would  be  called  upon  as 
little  as  possible  for  operation.  That  this  last  demand 
was  justified  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  after  the  battle 
of  Gettysburg  some  12,000  muskets  were  picked  up 
which  contained  anywhere  from  two  charges  to  a  num- 
ber sufficient  to  fill  the  barrel  from  breech  to  muzzle 
and  all  unexploded,  due  to  the  fact  that  some  soldier  in 
his  excitement  had  kept  on  ramming  charges  down  the 
barrel,  pointing  his  piece  at  the  enemy  and  snapping 
the  lock  without  ever  placing  a  percussion  cap  on  the 
nipple.  Various  devices  were  invented  for  the  purpose 
of  automatically  capping  a  percussion  lock  piece.  A 
number  of  breech  loading  percussion  lock  weapons 
were  invented  whereby  the  soldier  upon  attempting  to 
reload  knew  instantly  whether  or  not  his  previous 
charge  had  been  fired,  but  even  with  these  much  time 
was  lost  by  failure  to  cap  the  nipple.  The  breech  load- 
ing metallic  cartridge  weapon  was  the  only  genuine  solu- 
tion to  the  problem  which  was  disturbing  the  practical 
inventors,  and  this  they  finally  attained  after  a  series 
of  experimental  pieces,  which  is  aptly  represented  in  the 
Borrowdale  Collection. 

3048 — Burnside  Carbine,  made  by  Burnside  Rifle  Co.,  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  caliber  54,  percussion  lock,  but  equipped 
with  special  metallic  cartridge  By  pressing  the  catch 
and  pulling  down  on  the  trigger  guard  the  breech 
block  drops  back  in  a  quarter  circle  exposing  a  cham- 
ber in  the  block.  The  piece  is  initialed  J.  M.  B. 

3044 — Smith's  patent  breech  loading  carbine,  made  by  Poult- 
ney  and  Trimble,  Baltimore,  Md.,  50  caliber.  At  pres- 
sure on  catch  in  front  of  trigger  the  weapon  breaks  like 
a  shotgun. 

3045 — Starr's  patent  breech  loading  carbine,  caliber  50.  Trig- 
ger guard  acts  as  lever,  pulling  down  breech  block, 
which  is  made  in  two  parts  of  which  one  drops  straight 
down,  the  other  falling  backward  upon  it  in  a  quarter 
circle.  Percussion  lock. 

3046— Gwynn  and  Campbell's  patent  breech  loading  carbine, 
called  also  the  Union  carbine,  the  Campbell  carbine, 
the  Grapevine  carbine  and  the  Cosmopolitan  carbine. 
The  breech  block  slides  down  backward,  actuated  by 
trigger  guard  as  lever.  Dated  1862. 

3047 — Sharp  and  Hankins,  Philadelphia,  cavalry  carbine,  50 


24 

caliber.   Trigger  guard  acts  as  lever,  throwing  the  barrel 
straight  forward. 

3048 — Sharp  and  Lawrence  cavalry  carbine,  patent  1852,  for 
metallic  cartridges. 

3049-  Sharp  and  Hankins  carbine,  duplicate  of  3047. 
3050— Duplicate  of  number  3048. 
3051— Duplicate  of  number  3048. 

3052 — Duplicate  of  number  3048.  Note:  It  is  peculiarly  ap- 
propriate that  a  Sharp's  carbine  should  have  so  many 
duplicates  in  this  collection,  as  the  Sharps  played  a 
large  part  in  the  winning  of  the  West,  particularly  the 
section  east  of  the  mountains  between  1860  and  1875. 

3053— Sharps-Borchardt  patent  carbine.  Made  at  Sharp's 
factory  at  Philadelphia.  Breech  block  action  the  same 
as  Sharps  action,  but  the  piece  is  hammerless.  45  cali- 
ber, center  fire. 

3054 — Ballard's  patent  carbine,  by  Merrimac  Arms  Co.,  New- 
buryport,  Mass.,  1861.  Trigger  guard  acts  as  lever, 
breech  block  and  hammer  fall.  Cartridges  ejected  by 
lever  in  front  of  trigger  guard.  50  caliber. 

•3055 — Maynard's  patent  carbine,  trigger  guard  acts  as  lever 
and  barrel  tips  up.  50  caliber. 

3056— Spencer  magazine  carbine,  7  shot,  50  caliber,  rim  fire. 
Magazine  in  stock,  trigger  guard  lever.  Made  by 
Burnside  Rifle  Company,  Providence,  R.  I.,  model  of 
1863. 

3057 — Another  Spencer  carbine  made  by  Spencer  Rifle  Co,, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  model  1860,  otherwise  similar  to  3056. 
The  Spencer  repeating  carbine  was  more  thoroughly  de- 
tested by  the  Confederates  than  any  other  weapon  used 
against  them.  One  Confederate  is  reported  by  a  Yan- 
kee captor  as  saying,  "We  'uns  don't  care  what  you 
fellers  are  shooting  with  so  long  as  you  ain't  got  them 
damned  guns  you  load  up  on  Sunday  and  shoot  the 
rest  of  the  week.' ' 

3058 — Remington  cavalry  carbine,  badly  worn,  wood  parts 
badly  rusted,  no  date  visible.  Ryder's  patent. 

3059 — Eli  Whitney  45-60  sporting  rifle,  seven  shot,  magazine 
under  barrel,  lever  action,  made  at  Whitneyville,  Conn., 
1879- 

3060 — Evans  repeating  rifle,  by  Evans  Rifle  Co.,  Mechanic 


25 

Falls,  Maine.  This  weapon  is  rather  curious,  with  very 
large  magazine  operating  by  means  of  an  Archimedean 
screw  which  is  contained  in  the  stock  The  hammer  is 
in  the  trigger  guard,  to  which  is  also  attached  the 
breech  block.  The  flap  on  the  right  side  of  the  gun  is 
opened  by  the  action  of  the  lever,  giving  opportunity 
for  use  as  a  single  loader.  The  Evans  was  never  a  high- 
ly successful  weapon  because  of  the  great  difficulty  of 
loading.  While  the  magazine  held  from  26  to  32  car- 
tridges, depending  on  the  model,  loading  the  weapon 
was  an  extremely  slow  process  and  occasionally  a  pain- 
ful one,  and  a  further  disadvantage  was  the  very  great 
weight  of  the  gun  when  loaded. 

3061 — "Hunter"  shot  gun,  about  10  gauge.  Same  action  as 
French  Tabatierre  rifle,  the  breech  block  turning  over 
to  the  right. 

3062 — Bullard  Repeating  Arms  Co.,  Springfield,  Mass.,  mag- 
azine sporting  rifle.  Complicated  mechanism,  is  no 
longer  operable.  40-90  caliber. 

3063— Henry  repeating  rifle,  patent  1880.  Stock  repaired  with 
leather. 

3064— Repeating  rifle,  caliber  45-70,  patented  by  A.  Burge, 
1855,  and  barrel  by  G.  W.  Morse,  1856. 

3065 — Martini-Henry  sporting  rifle  made  by  T.  Burkett,  St. 
Mary's  Square,  Birmingham,  England.  Single  shot, 
about  38  caliber.  The  s^ock  has  been  badly  cracked, 
but  the  whole  piece  shows  evidence  of  the  very  best 
workmanship  of  an  English  sporting  gun  maker. 

3066 — Winchester  sporting  rifle,  model  1873,  with  King's  im- 
provements. Caliber  38-55. 

3067 — Winchester  sporting  rifle,  model  1895,  shooting  30  Gov- 
ernment cartridge,  Lyman  sight. 

3068 — A  Harper's  Ferry  percussion  lock  barrel,  lock  and  trig- 
ger dated  1854. 

3069 — A  U.  S.  Government  percussion  lock  barrel,  probably 
Harper's  Ferry. 

3070 — Barrel  and  receiver  of  Henry  Volcanic  rifle,  date  unde- 
cipherable but  the  piece  is  of  Civil  War  period,  and  was 
a  great  favorite  among  Northern  sharpshooters,  many 
of  whom  bought  Henry  rifles  privately. 


26 


PART  ^--MISCELLANEOUS. 

3123— Brass  shell,  marked  "Hotchkiss  Patent,  Paris."  Made 
for  Hotchkiss  revolving  cannon,  one  pounder,  many  of 
which  were  used  by  United  States  troops  against  the 
Indians  in  this  locality. 

3124— Powder  flask  of  tin. 

3125— Shot  flask  with  stamped  leather  cover  and  device  for 
measuring  charge. 

3126— Metal  powder  flask. 
3127— Leather  shot  flask. 
3128— Flat  powder  horn 
3129— Powder  horn. 

3130 — Hand  grenades  of  Civil  War  period. 

3131 

3132 

3133 — Heavy  cast  iron  shell.  The  inside  was  filled  with  pow- 
der and  a  fuse  block  was  screwed  into  the  hole  in 
which  threads  may  be  seen.  It  acted  much  as  the 
high  explosive  shrapnel  of  the  present  day.  This  shell 
was  made  for  an  eighteen  or  twenty-four  pounder.  The 
larger  hole  was  not  made  with  the  shell,  and  was  also 
not  caused  by  explosion  but  by  some  circumstance  oc- 
curring presumably  since  the  shell  was  discarded  by  the 
army. 

3134 — Leather  cartridge  case. 
3135— Leather  cartridge  belt. 
3136— White  leather  holster. 
3137— Cartridge  loading  tool. 

3138— Pair  of  old  spurs. 
3139 

3140— Tin  covered  glass  bottle  which  served  as  a  canteen. 

3141— Small  wooden  canteen  of  cheese  box  shape,  which  was 
much  favored  during  the  Revolution. 

3142 — Large  wooden  canteen  of  similar  shape. 


27 

3143 — Small  wooden  barrel  shaped  canteen. 

3144 — A  native  throwing  spear,  apparently  manufactured 
with  white  man 's  tools.  Possibly  South  African  in  or- 
igin. 

3145 — A  pair  of  boarding  pikes  used  in  the  days  of  wooden 
3146    ships  both  for  boarding  an  enemy  vessel  and  in  repel- 
ling his  boarders.     These  may  have  been  either  Ameri- 
can or  British  navy,  but  were  more  probably  in  use  by 
privateers,  as  they  bear  no  government  stamp. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

"Firearms  in  American  History"  series,  by  Charles  Winthrop 
Sawyer,  published  by  the  Cornhill  Publishing  Co.,  Bos- 
ton, Mass. 

"Schools  and  Masters  of  Fence,"  Edgerton  Castle. 
Miscellaneous  sources. 


1UTHERN 


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